Sustainability Innovation Award

APPA’s Sustainability Innovation Award in Facilities Management is designed to recognize and promote unique and innovative sustainable practices in the educational facilities and campus environments. It is awarded to educational institutions that have implemented a significant or transformative program and/or processes that enhance service delivery, lower costs, create a green and/or sustainable environment, or otherwise benefit the educational institution supporting student success and environmental stewardship.

To complete a submission, please log into your myAPPA account.

Eligibility

The Sustainability Innovation Award in Facilities Management is open to any APPA Institutional member. Multi-campus or state systems may submit applications for system-wide or individual merit.

Process

Institutions that wish to be considered for the Sustainability Innovation Award in Facilities Management must submit electronic application materials to APPA.

Final evaluation regarding the Award will be made some time in April/May and will be submitted for approval to APPA’s Board of Directors. Award recipients will be recognized at APPA’s annual conference banquet in August of the same year. Other sustainable recognition actions will be included to provide additional exposure for the award recipient, including the request for each winning institution to provide the committee with 5 to 15 photos of sustainability practices on their campus.

Criteria

Award nomination entries must describe either one new program or a significant restructuring of an existing program or process. Up to five ranked submissions will be eligible for a non-cash award.

Up to five recipients may be selected. Winning entries will receive special recognition on the APPA website and in the Facilities Manager magazine.

1. Innovativeness, Creativity, and Originality (300 pts)
   1. Describe in detail the level of innovation and creativity involved with the initiative. Describe how this initiative is unique and original and what differentiates it from other similar efforts. Document the efforts to benchmark and determine the originality of the concept.
2. Sustainability (300 pts total with up to 100 pts awarded for each category below)
   1. Economic Benefit (100 pts) Describe how this effort/program influences the three Pillars of Sustainability. Effective programs should touch all three pillars.
   2. Environmental Benefit (100 pts) Describe how this effort/program influences the three Pillars of Sustainability. Effective programs should touch all three pillars.
   3. Societal Benefit (100 pts) Describe how this effort/program influences the three Pillars of Sustainability. Effective programs should touch all three pillars.
3. Adaptability and Transferability (150 pts)
   1. To be worthy of recognition the initiative must be adaptable/transferable to other institutions without drastic alterations or cost. It should be easy to implement without extensive customization.
4. Institutional and Community Benefit (150 pts)
   1. Describe how the initiative directly benefits the institution/community and its constituents. Provide the extent of the benefit and documented results and outcomes. The results must be factual and supported by data.
5. Management Commitment and Employee/Student Involvement (100 pts)
   1. Describe the level of management commitment and the alignment with institutional goals. Provide information on the involvement of stakeholder groups and the participation of employees at all levels.
6. Documentation and Analysis (100 pts)
   1. Information analysis is used to evaluate performance and drive future performance improvements. Of interest are the types of tools used (peer comparative data such as benchmarking) and how the tools are used to enhance the success of the effective practice. Documentation should be factual, clear, logical, and well developed. Analysis must be clear and well documented. Customer and stakeholder involvement would be described for each step of development and implementation. Benchmarks should establish experiences for others and help to define the originality of the practice. All links provided in your submission should be LIVE hyperlinks.

Awards

Sustainability Innovation Award: In keeping with the concept of sustainability, the actual award will be represented in the following format;

• Receive primary feature/exposure with an article in Facilities Manager magazine
• Formal accolades and announcement at APPA program and mass communique
• Formal electronic letters to the executive leadership at the institution and an award plaque produced sustainably for each award recipient.

Submitting Materials

A complete award submission consists of the following parts:

1. Completed application form; all attachments should be PDFs.
2. An introductory abstract of no more than 200 words.
3. Narrative of no more than five pages each for the six award criteria areas.
4. A list of supporting materials for each of the six criteria. This is simply a listing of the documentation that supports statements made in the narrative. DO NOT INCLUDE THE ACTUAL DOCUMENTS WITH YOUR SUBMISSION. Instead, you should be prepared to make the listed documents available electronically to award reviewers upon request.

Past Recipients

2021
University of New Hampshire (Northwest Heat Plant)

2020
Auburn University
Brown University
Louisiana State University
Pennsylvania State University
University of North Dakota

2019
College of Lake County
Stanford University Residential and Dining
University of California Davis
University of Texas Dallas
Virginia Tech

2018
Central Michigan University
James Madison University
San Jose State University
Simon Fraser University
University of Calgary

2017
Arizona State University
Ohio State University 
San Mateo County Community College District
University of British Columbia 
University of Washington Bothell

2016
Colorado State University
Elon University
George Washington University
Ohio University
Portland Community College
Spelman College
University of Michigan
University of Virginia

2015
San Diego Community College District
Slippery Rock University

2014
Black Hills State University 
North Carolina State University
Penn State University
San Mateo County Community College District
University of California Los Angeles
University of Rochester

2013
Duke University 
Oberlin College 
Philadelphia University 
University of Colorado Boulder 
University of Iowa

2012
American University
Emory University
University of British Columbia 
University of California Irvine
University of Prince Edward Island